Get cozy with this rich and creamy Old Fashioned Potato Soup. When you are looking for some simple and delicious comfort food this easy potato soup recipe is for you!

Similar to our Loaded Potato Soup it's topped with crispy bacon and cheese. Best of all start to finish it'll take you less than 45 minutes to prep, cook, and serve.

Table of Contents show

Why You'll Love This Soup

Ease. This is a really easy homemade potato soup recipe that only requires simple, everyday ingredients. Most likely you'll just need to do some fridge and pantry shopping. And this soup is a One Pot Meal!
Flavor and Texture. Creamy, rich and delicious. Customize the texture to your own liking. One option is to run the immersion blender until the soup is perfectly smooth.
Time. Ready to be served in less than 45 minutes. This soup is pure comfort food and can easily be put together even on busy weeknights.
Leftover Rating. This homemade soup is everyone's favorite because it reheats well and tastes great on days two and three.

Ingredients

3-4 large RUSSET POTATOES - peeled and diced potatoes
1 medium ONION - chopped
3 cloves GARLIC - minced
1 tablespoon BUTTER - unsalted
2 cups VEGETABLE BROTH
2 cups (whole) MILK
3 cups (8 ounces) CHEDDAR CHEESE - shredded
½ teaspoon NUTMEG
1 tablespoon SUGAR

How To Make This Old Fashioned Potato Soup Recipe

collage of images, frying bacon and sautéing the potatoes, onions, and garlic

Use a soup pot (or Dutch Oven) to fry the bacon until crispy. Remove the bacon and set aside
Add butter to the bacon drippings.
Add the potatoes, onions, and garlic and sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes.

collage of images adding the liquids, cooking the soup, adding the cheese and puréeing the soup

Deglaze the mixture with milk and vegetable broth. Add sugar and nutmeg. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.
Add ⅔ of the shredded Cheddar cheese. Use a hand mixer and blend the soup until smooth. If desired season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve immediately and top with remaining Cheddar cheese and crispy bacon.

Recipe Success Tips

Shredded Cheddar. Avoid store bought, shredded Cheddar cheese. Packaged shredded cheese has unwanted fillers and additives.
Instead grate an 8 ounces piece of cheese. It makes for a creamier soup and less expensive.
Scallions. Adding a few sliced scallions adds a delightful bit of extra crunchiness.
Dairy. This old fashioned potato soup is made with milk. But you could also use some heavy cream for added creaminess.
Time Saving Tip. You don't need to peel the potatoes. Simply wash and scrub them well. You can also use this produce cleaner to make sure your potatoes are squeaky clean.
And the potato skin is actually full of flavor. So why do I peel the potatoes in this recipe? My husband prefers peeled potatoes. 😉
The Right Type Of Potatoes. For this recipe you'll want very starchy potatoes. That's why Russets potatoes with their mealy texture are perfect for this recipe.
You could also use Yukon Golds for this recipe. But you'll want to avoid using waxy potatoes such as new potatoes, fingerlings, or baby potatoes.

Storing and Keeping

This homemade old fashioned potato soup will keep for 3-5 days in the fridge. I recommend this airtight container to store the soup.

Unfortunately potato soup doesn't freeze well.

old fashioned potato soup topped with cheddar, crispy bacon, and scallions served in two white soup bowls

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